


What Happened After The Fire

by needleyecandy



Series: Silly September [2]
Category: Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Cats, Firefighters, Fluff, Kidnapping, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-06
Updated: 2015-09-11
Packaged: 2018-04-19 08:28:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4739624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/needleyecandy/pseuds/needleyecandy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thor always goes in when there's an animal.  He seems to have an instinct for finding them, hiding and frightened, and they always seem to understand that this huge man in bulky clothes is there to help them. </p>
<p>It's never been a problem until the day he gets injured on the job, and a very grateful Loki decides to take care of him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize to any firefighters reading this, I expect I got everything wrong except the heroism part.
> 
>  
> 
> Enjoy!

Thor was maybe ten minutes into a movie when the alarm went off. He jumped up with the others on duty and suited efficiently, swung up into the truck and they were off, siren screaming for the traffic to get out of their way.

The place was already engulfed in flames when they got there and the hose team moved quickly to get the water hooked up while Thor and two others picked up their axes to clear the way. He was the first to the door. That was when he saw the sticker clinging to the decorative glass.

_FIREFIGHTER PLEASE SAVE MY CAT_

"I'm going in," Thor said over his walkie.

"It's too far gone," Mike said.

"There's a cat," Thor answered.

That settled it. Thor always went in when there was an animal. He seemed to have an instinct for finding them, hiding and frightened, and they always seemed to understand that this huge man in bulky clothes was there to help them.

The door fell easily before his axe, and he gave a quick sweep of his light before stepping through the doorway. The smoke was very nearly opaque, and the flames were licking the walls. He was unspeakably grateful it was a one-story. Less chance of getting trapped. He moved further in, and... there, by the far wall, was a sofa. Just the sort of place a frightened cat might hide. His system let him breathe, but the heat was oppressive. He would be glad to get out quickly.

At least the air down here was clear, he thought as he knelt to peer beneath. And yes, there were a pair of glowing eyes peering back at him. He lifted the couch with one hand and reached beneath with the other, taking a firm hold on the cat's scruff and easing the shaking little body out. He straightened, carrying the cat tightly against his chest as he made for the door, going dizzy from how hot it was. He had one foot over the threshold when his vision went black. The last thing he remembered doing was twisting as he fell so that he wouldn't land on the cat.

*****

Loki was just picking up his things for a meeting when his phone rang. He was about to swipe to dismiss when he glanced at the caller and saw it was his alarm company.

"Hello, is this Mr. Loki Laufeyson?" the voice asked.

"It is, what's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, sir. Your fire alarm is going off. A response team is already on the way."

"Thank you," he said automatically.

He had no idea how he drove home. When he got there, the crew was hosing down a pile of embers where his house had been. He stood next to his car, staring blankly, until someone noticed him and came over.

"Are you the owner, sir?" she asked.

He nodded.

"We're very sorry. By the time we arrived, it was too late to save the structure."

He turned to look at her. "My-" he said. He couldn't bring himself to say _cat._

"Your cat is fine, sir," she said.

The wave of relief could have knocked him over. "Thank you. I don't care about anything else," he said.

"We take pets to the vet over on Twenty-first until their owners can pick them up," she said.

"Guardian," he corrected automatically.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"I'm her guardian. I don't own her," he explained.

She smiled. "I think you'd get along with Thor. One of our guys. He's the one who rescued her."

Loki's eyes skimmed across the mass of firefighters, still dealing with the smoking wreckage. "Is he here? Can I thank him?"

"Actually... He was injured getting out. The doorframe gave way as he was going through."

"Oh, no, that's awful," Loki said. "Could I visit him, do you think?"

"Well, we don't give out private information, but if you give me your number, I'll ask him if it's okay."

Loki found an old receipt in the back of his car and scribbled his number down.

"Do you have somewhere to stay and someone to talk to?" she asked as she took it.

"A friend is on sabbatical until August, I've been watering her plants. I can stay there. And I don't need to talk to anyone but my cat."

She watched him drive off. An odd man, but polite. Way better than how a lot of people treated firefighters under these circumstances.

Loki made a quick stop for supplies and got to the vet just before they closed for the night. He paid the boarding fee and then they were bringing her out, her bright orange eyes glaring at him through the slats of the loaner carrier. "Oh, sweetheart, I'm so glad you're all right," he said, sinking to his knees. She yowled at him. "I know, I know it was scary, but I have you now. We're going to live at Mina's for a while, won't that be nice?" She yowled again.

She screeched the whole way to Mina's apartment building, clawing at the walls of the carrier and hitting the door with her head right up to the moment Loki set it down in the middle of the living room and opened it. Then she refused to leave.

"Want some tuna?" he asked. She did, enough to leave the carrier and slink behind him into the kitchen. After filling her tummy, she decided that maybe this new place wasn't quite so bad. Loki took a shower, trying to wash off the day's worries, and got into bed. It was a queen size, just like his own had been. She took two thirds, just like always.

Fortunately, Loki's boss had had her home destroyed by a tornado a few years ago, so she understood all the work it was going to take him to get things straightened out - insurance, clothes shopping, the beginnings of putting his life back in order. She gave him an open-ended leave, telling him to take however long he needed. He'd gotten the first week all planned out, everything he needed to do and when he'd do it. Those plans were disrupted - happily - when he got a phone call saying Thor would be glad to have a visitor, and where to find him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to mention yesterday that I'm on vacation and will reply to messages when I get home, I'm not ignoring anyone!
> 
> Enjoy!

"You be good," Loki told his dainty tabby the next morning as he left, knowing she wouldn't be. He stopped at the supermarket, at first thinking to get a bouquet, but when he saw there were helium balloons with cats on them, he forgot the flowers. 

Thor woke up to find a man sitting at his bedside. He blinked, thinking at first that the morphine was blurring his eyes, but no. It was a stranger. "Hello?" he croaked. His voice still felt rough. They had already told him that he had had a breathing tube. 

"Oh, you're awake!" said the man, turning to him. "I'm Loki. You saved Princess Jumblytoes. I can never thank you enough." 

Thor stared. He could tell the words were English, but that was all the sense he could make of them. "Princess Jumblytoes?" he said. 

"She's a polydactyl. See, most cats have five toes on their front paws and four toes on the back, but the princess has six in front and five in back, and you know how kittens have these huge feet on little tiny bodies? Hers were even bigger and so-" 

"I know what a polydactyl is. But who's the princess?" 

Loki looked affronted. "My cat. You saved her." 

_Okay,_ that made sense. "Oh. I'm sorry we couldn't save your house," he said. 

"Oh, that. It doesn't matter," Loki said dismissively. 

"Still-" 

Thor was cut off by his doctor coming into his room. "I'll wait in the hall," Loki offered. 

That was when Thor said the fateful words. It had to have been the morphine talking. "It's okay, you can stay," he said. 

The doctor had good news. Sort of. "All the tests came back clear," he said. "You're going to be sore for a month or so yet, but if you feel up to it, we can get you onto pain pills and release you tomorrow. You'll need someone looking after you for two weeks, though. I'd rather not let you out if you'd be alone." 

"He's staying with me," Loki said. "I already got the time off work so I can stay home and look after him." 

Thor closed his eyes a moment, trying to clear his head, but the doctor was already talking to Loki. "That's really wonderful of you. I wish all my patients had such dedicated friends, it would really ease my mind. Come with me to the nurse's station and I'll have someone go over his meds with you. Will you be able to drive him to physical therapy?" asked the doctor. 

"Yes, of course," Loki answered as they left the room together. 

Thor lay in bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to figure out what was going on. 

Loki was back perhaps ten minutes later. "That's all set. I'll be here at nine tomorrow to take you home. I'd better do some shopping, what do you like to eat?" he asked. 

Thor managed to focus just well enough to recognize that there was a question in there. "We have spaghetti a lot at the station house," he offered. 

"Spaghetti. Check. Anything else? Do you like tuna? We eat a lot of tuna in our home." 

"Tuna's good," Thor said weakly. 

"Okay, I'd better get going. I'll be back tomorrow to pick you up. I'm going to take the best care of you!" Loki promised, and he was gone like a whirlwind, leaving a cat balloon bobbing in his wake. 

Thor reached for the string and pulled the balloon down to face height. "Princess Jumblytoes," he said to himself. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

Nine o'clock came quickly, and with it came Loki, chatting happily with his nurse as they entered the room together. All Thor's careful planning on how to get himself out of this was washed away under their combined onslaught. 

"Don't you worry about a thing, Thor," Loki said. "I'm going to take the best care of you." 

"He really is,"agreed the nurse. "He had so many questions yesterday going over your care. I don't know when I've felt so comfortable handing one of my patients over to someone else." 

"But-" said Thor. 

"Uh-uh. You already heard him. He's going to take the best care of you." 

"I really am," Loki agreed. 

There was a flurry of paperwork, and then the nurse was giving a bunch of things to Loki, and before he knew it, he was in a wheelchair waiting with an orderly while Loki went to get his car. 

Thor figured he'd make one last try before he was abducted by a very possibly insane cat fancier. "I don't actually know this guy that well," he began. 

"And he still took weeks off work to look after you? Man, that's a good friend. I hope you know how lucky you are," said the orderly. 

Thor heaved a sigh and gave up. "Yeah. I'm really lucky," he said. 

Loki pulled up in a Volvo covered in cat bumper stickers - Thor was able to see the _meow_ nationality one, another reading _don't honk if you love cats, they hate loud noises_ , and three in different colors all reading _real men love cats_ \- and jumped out to help Thor from the wheelchair into the passenger seat. Once Thor was in, they got the back lowered as close to lying down as he could get. After having to sit up in the wheelchair, and all the pressure that had put on his spine, the car felt like heaven. Loki thanked the orderly on Thor's behalf and drove off. 

Thor sought frantically for something to say, anything to get Loki into conversation so he could try to gauge his sanity level. "You don't really look like a Volvo driver," Thor said. 

"Oh! I never used to be. I used to drive a Jag. Once I adopted her highness, though, I traded it in. I needed something safe. I'm all she's got," he said, starting to choke up. 

"Don't cry. I'm sorry. I'm sure she really appreciates everything you do for her," Thor said nervously. 

"She doesn't need to appreciate it. She deserves everything. She's the best," Loki said, still dangerously close to tears. 

"Hey, hey. It's okay. I promise everything's okay," Thor said. He wasn't entirely sure what he was talking about at that point, but it seemed to calm Loki down a bit. For a minute. 

"Thanks. I don't mean to get so emotional. I just love her so much," Loki said. He just managed to pull into a parking space before he began bawling. 

"There, there," Thor said, patting him on the shoulder. He found himself wondering what exact series of events in his life had led him to this: being taken home by a deranged cat lover who was currently sobbing into the paw-print decorated steering wheel cover, and who was most likely going to feed him spaghetti in tuna sauce for the next two weeks. 

Loki finally wore himself out and he leaned over to reach into the glove compartment and grab a tissue. He blew his nose alarmingly loudly. 

"You okay now? Why don't we go through that drive-thru and get you a nice cold drink," Thor suggested, pointing at the fast food place a few buildings down. 

Loki nodded. "I'll get her a burger. She likes me to come home with a present. But what am I saying? I'm bringing her the best present, the person who saved her life!" he said, beaming at Thor. 

While Thor's confidence in Loki's emotional stability was plummeting rapidly, he did at least feel a budding confidence that Loki wasn't going to murder him as soon as they got home. If nothing else, he loved his cat too much to hurt her rescuer. 

They did go through, getting a cherry coke for Loki, a burger with no bun for Princess Jumblytoes, and a jumbo order of fries for Thor, who found the hospital's idea of a full meal a very different thing from what he was used to consuming in one sitting. He tried to give Loki some money, but Loki waved it away. 

"No, no. I'm looking after you now," he said. 

Even though he was beginning to feel safer, Thor still couldn't help feeling relieved when he saw that the apartment building had a doorman. A witness to the fact that Thor had entered the building alive. And Loki didn't seem to mind, either. He introduced the two of them as they went in, explaining that Thor was staying there until he had recovered from an injury. 

Thor was quiet in the elevator as Loki rattled off all the fun things he had planned for the two of them. He seemed to have - since yesterday - bought every cat-themed game ever made. "I have cat Go Fish, and cat Gin Rummy, and cat Monopoly, and cat Jenga, and two different cat trivia games," he explained. "There will be more, but those are all the ones that I could find with overnight shipping. I didn't want you to be bored when I got you home," Loki explained. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

"I'm still kind of foggy from the pain meds. I think maybe I'd like to take a nap first, before we play a game?" Thor said cautiously. He was growing more confident of Loki's good intentions, and didn't want to hurt his feelings. 

"Of course, how silly of me. Here, this key is for you," Loki said, handing Thor the one he'd just used to let them in. " I don't want you thinking you're being held prisoner by a homicidal maniac." 

"Oh, no. I would never think that," Thor said, laughing nervously. 

"Well, you should," Loki said. His voice was stern. "It's not safe to just go home with strangers all the time. If I hadn't been there, who knows what kind of weirdo might have checked you out of the hospital? I mean, I know you're big and strong and you probably feel like that will protect you, but it's not much use when you're all loopy from your pills." 

"No, Loki," Thor said. 

"Okay. Good. Well, let me show you around..." He showed Thor the kitchen, the bathroom, where to find the remote for the huge TV set that took up one corner of the room, and finally, the guest room where Thor would be staying. "...and I just put the sheets on last night, so they should still feel nice and fresh, and your towels are on the chair there. I think that's everything, so I'll leave you to your nap. Do you need me to take your pants off you?" 

"Um, no thanks. I think I'm okay by myself," Thor said. 

"Good!" Loki said, pleased. "I'm so glad that you're already taking our little talk to heart." 

Thor got undressed - by himself, though it did turn out to be difficult - and sank into the bed. Despite the pills, he was still in enough pain to feel exhausted, and it was incredibly good to lie down somewhere comfortable. He didn’t even realize he had fallen asleep until Loki was shaking him gently awake. 

"Thor. Thor, wake up," he whispered. 

He was groggy enough that it took a moment to remember how to speak. "Hi, Loki," he said. 

"I'm really sorry to bother you, you looked like that rest was doing you good. But I promised your nurse that I'd keep your pills right on schedule, and it's four o'clock." 

"Thank you," Thor said, struggling to sit up. 

Loki slipped a gentle hand behind his back, supporting him. Even with the help, he still grimaced at the darts of agony that shot through him, and he set both hands on the mattress to take some of the weight off his spine. "It's okay. You just hold yourself, and I'll do this. Go ahead and open up for me." 

Thor opened his mouth, not even caring anymore if Loki was a killer, he just wanted to get this over with and lie back down. Loki popped the pills onto his tongue and followed them with a glass of water. Thor swallowed obediently. 

"I'm sorry. You're supposed to drink the whole glass with these," Loki said. Thor drank as quickly as he could, making himself splutter. 

Loki set down the glass and grabbed one of Thor's towels to blot him off as Thor sank down into his pillows with a sigh. "I think we need to talk about- no, no. Where do you live, Thor? At the station house?" Loki asked. 

At Thor's nod, he continued. "I know that you're probably used to just hanging out in your underwear there, but that really won't do here. Her highness has a very heavy coat, so I have to keep the place cool for her. Is there someone you can call to bring some clothes over for you?" 

_Hanging about in their underwear?_ Thor started to argue, caught himself, and nodded instead. "I don't have my phone, though. It's still at the station." 

Loki gave Thor his, and waited as Thor dialed. The chief answered. 

"Hi, chief," Thor said. 

"Hey, Thor, how are you doing? We heard you got released this morning." 

"Yeah, I'm at... um, the guy whose cat I saved is looking after me." _Please, please, realize this is crazy and get me out,_ he pleaded silently. 

"Wow, that's so nice of him! He was really good looking, too," said the chief. 

"Uh-huh," Thor agreed feebly. "I was wondering if someone could pack up some clothes and things for me?" 

"Sure thing, Gary can run them by tonight. What's the address?" 

Loki told Thor and he parroted it over the phone. 

"Great, he should be there around six. Tell your friend thanks, we all appreciate him taking such good care of you!" 

"Uh-huh. Bye," Thor said, and hung up. "Someone's coming by tonight with some things for me," he told Loki. 

"Okay. I'm going to let you go back to sleep now, you don't have any more pills for a few hours." 

Thor lay in bed, thinking over the events of the past few days. There must have been something that made him wind up here. It wasn't just rescuing the cat - he did that all the time - it had to be something else. Something more that resulted in Loki grabbing onto him like a lamprey. It was the doctor's visit, he decided at last. When the doctor came by and Thor said Loki didn't have to wait in the hall. Still, that didn't seem like the sort of thing that usually resulted in something like this. He'd have to wait for Gary. Gary would get him out. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

Gary did not get him out. Thor had again woken to Loki's soft whisper, telling him that his clothes had arrived. "Do you want to see him, or do you just want to rest?" 

"I'd like to see him," Thor said. 

He tried and failed to sit up in bed as he heard Gary and Loki chatting while they walked down the hall. 

"Thor! How's it going, my man?" Gary asked. 

"My back hurts a lot, but otherwise-" 

"That sucks, man. Hey, it turns out your friend here went to the same college as my daughter!" 

"I couldn't help noticing his t-shirt. Well, I'll let you two catch up," Loki said, turning towards the door. 

"No way! Any friend of Thor's is a friend of mine," Gary said. 

"Oh, thank you," Loki said, obviously pleased. 

They ended up talking for nearly an hour, with Thor giving Gary increasingly frantic grimaces and jerks of his head, until Gary started to worry. "Did they do a neurological check on you? It seems like you have some nasty tics going on," Gary said. 

"The nurse said that was a possible side effect of his pain meds," Loki said. "Speaking of which, it's time for another dose." 

"I'll get out of your hair, then," Gary said, standing. 

"No, please don't go. It's early yet," Thor pleaded. 

"Yeah, but you need your rest. Don't you worry about a thing. I'll go tell the gang how you're doing and that you've got really great care." 

"Thanks," Thor sighed. 

Loki saw Gary out and returned with another glass of water and another round of pills. Thor took them obediently. 

"Do you want to rest more, or would you like to play a game?" Loki asked. 

Thor's head was fuzzy, but he didn't feel as tired as he had been. It seemed like a good time to figure Loki out a little better. "Game?" he suggested. 

Loki beamed at him. "I'll be right back." 

A minute later a teetering pile of boxes with Loki somewhere beneath them entered his room. Loki set them down on the nightstand. "Which one would you like to play?" he asked. 

Thor looked at the pile. "Cards?" he suggested weakly. 

"Sure, which one? I've got Go Fish, and Gin Rummy, and two trivia games that are mostly about breeds." Loki whispered the last word. 

"Umm, Rummy? I don't really know about breeds," Thor said. 

"I don't really think they're that important, anyway. I only got those to be completist," Loki whispered. 

"Why did you say that like that?" Thor asked, rather dreading the answer. 

"I don't like to talk about _those_ where she can hear me. She's a mixed... well, a mixed you-know-what, and I don't want her to ever feel lesser," Loki answered under his breath. 

"Oh. I see," Thor whispered back. He did agree with the sentiment, and while he strongly doubted that the princess cared about such things, he did like how Loki cared so much her feelings. 

To his surprise, the game turned out to be reasonably fun. Sure, Loki rattled on incessantly about cats, but it was mostly stories about her highness, and Thor had to admit she had quite the personality. 

"Catsonality. Don't be speciesist," Loki corrected. 

"Oh. Sorry," Thor said. 

"It's all right. You can't learn if no one tells you." 

By the time Thor's next round of pills came, they were tied, two games each. 

"I'll get you your medicine and then I'll make dinner. Is spaghetti with tuna okay?" 

Thor felt a cold hand clench around his heart as he nodded yes. 

Thor's next surprise was how much he enjoyed his dinner. The spaghetti was dressed in a bright lemon sauce with flakes of tuna and little green things that gave bursts of tangy saltiness. Capers, Loki said, when Thor asked. 

"I usually put this on linguine, but I thought you might want to have something familiar. Everything must be kind of crazy for you right now," Loki said. 

"Thank you, but it's nothing compared to what you're dealing with," Thor told him. 

Loki smiled. "It would have been so much worse without you." 

Thor fell asleep that night thinking of Loki's smile. He really wasn't so bad, once you got to know him. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy, everyone! Thanks for reading!

Loki woke Thor twice in the night with whispered apologies, gentle hands helping him sit up enough to take his pills. 

The next time Thor woke, it was to the smell of sausage and pancakes. He opened his eyes and found Princess Jumblytoes sitting at the foot of the bed, staring at him. He held out his hand. "Do you remember me?" he asked quietly. 

She stared at him imperiously. 

"I know you've been through some scary things, but I only did what I did to help you. I'd like us to be friends, if that's all right with you." 

More talking got him no response, so he let his hand fall to the outside of the blanket. She stood and yawned and stretched and glanced around as though noticing his hand for the first time. Two steps - she was a big cat, with long legs - and she was next to his hand, sniffing it casually. 

"Can I pet you?" Thor moved one finger, just a little, just enough to rub against her cheek and gauge her reaction. When she rubbed back, he lifted his hand and started to give her a proper cheek rub. She closed her eyes and leaned into it, beginning to purr. 

That was how Loki found them when he brought Thor's breakfast tray, the plate loaded with food, and next to it a little bowl with more pills, a glass of juice and cups of both coffee and tea. He saw the contented smile on Thor's face, the sheer bliss on that of the princess, and he could have melted right there in his hallway. The sight of the massively powerful man, his arms bulging with strength that he used for helping and kindness... that was the moment Loki fell in love. It would have been impossible to do anything else. 

"We need to leave in about an hour for your physical therapy appointment. I've already showered, so the bathroom is yours, as much as you want it," Loki said. 

A shower did sound nice, Thor thought, if only it weren't for the standing up he'd have to do. He was silent a moment, wrestling with himself. The pills didn't make his brain as foggy as the morphine had, but it was still difficult to think things through. 

"You don't smell, if that helps to know. Even if you did, it's okay to say that it hurts too much to stand that long." 

Thor smiled. "That's exactly what I was trying to decide. Thanks. I think I'll hold off a little." 

"Sure. Do you want to play a game while we wait?" Loki suddenly looked so hopeful Thor nearly burst into laughter. 

"How about Go Fish?" 

Loki was disappointed by the game - his last cat-themed Go Fish game, the one lost in the fire, was actually pictures of cats, while this was cat-related puns with no pictures (not to say he disliked puns, he loved them, he simply loved cats more), but it was still nice to sit and talk with Thor. Had Thor been this dreamy yesterday? He'd been handsome, yeah, but now... me- _ow_. Being nice to cats always made guys like a thousand times hotter. It was a scientific fact. 

The trip to physical therapy involved absolutely no crying fits whatsoever, which Thor considered to be something of a triumph. The building had a patient drop-off area, and he was taken back to be seen by his therapist before Loki got to the office. Thor noticed a pile of old Cat Fancy magazines in the waiting room and was happy that Loki wouldn't be bored. 

As gentle as the therapist was, Thor was still in significantly more pain by the time his appointment was over. "It will be easier next time," she promised. "I needed to get some baselines for us to work from." 

On the plus side, she gave him an ass donut with an apologetic smile. "I know how stupid it feels to use one, but it really will take the pressure off your spine," she said. 

Loki was just as Thor expected him to be - sitting in the waiting room, nose buried in a magazine and oblivious to the world. He had to say hi three times before Loki noticed him. When he did, he blushed. 

"Oh, sorry. I was just getting caught up on the newest dietary guidelines," he said, his face burning. It was a total lie. It was a personal article by someone who had met her husband while they were volunteering together at a cat rescue center. She went into great detail about watching how gentle his hands were when he handled the cats. Loki had just gotten to where she talked about how amazing their first kiss was before his mind wandered from the story, picturing himself and Thor leaning towards each other over a grooming table, forgotten fur brushes falling to the floor, lips meeting... 

Loki had to make Thor fall in love with him back. That was just all there was to it. 

***** 

After another four days in which Loki flirted ever more desperately, and Thor remained as druggedly oblivious as ever, Thor found that he could sit up (with his embarrassing ass donut) without it hurting too badly. They started watching tv and movies together. All the Pink Panther movies, selected episodes of the old Batman - Loki would fast forward through the scenes without Catwoman, and then rewind so they could watch those three or four times, Loki purring along with Eartha - Garfield, Alice in Wonderland, the Cat from Outer Space...

Thor had to admit that once he got used to Loki (who, admittedly, took some getting used to), he was beginning to develop a genuine fondness for the man. For one thing, he treated her highness with the respect she deserved. Thor did like a man who respected his pet. For another, he really did have a sixth sense for cooking with tuna - they'd had it for almost every lunch and dinner since Thor had arrived, and nothing had seemed boring or repetitive. Thor was by no means a glutton, but he enjoyed his body (well, when it didn't hurt so much, he did), and he saw nothing wrong in taking pleasure in physical delights. And once he'd come to realize that Loki was merely strange, and not a stalker, he couldn't help noticing that he was also very good looking. His eyes were so strikingly green, and his black hair was rich and glossy, and each morning before he took the time to tame it, it was filled with unruly curls. 

On the seventh day there, Thor found himself thinking of how it would be to coax his hair into place. 

On the eighth day, Thor found himself thinking of how it would be to mess it up. 

He told Loki that he wanted to watch Batman again. He did not add that all he really cared about was listening to Loki purring. That would just be too creepy; after the way Loki had taken him in and cared for him, it would put Loki in a terribly awkward position if he didn't return Thor's feelings. Thor couldn't do that to him. He would simply have to bide his time and enjoy their growing friendship until the time was right. 

Loki, in turn, really did try his best, but he couldn't find the words to tell Thor how he felt. It would just be too creepy after how they had met, and the fact that Thor was sort of a prisoner in Loki's borrowed apartment. So when the day came that Thor was able to go back to the station house, he tried to look as though he were merely happy for Thor's recovery. 

He put on a brave smile as he pulled up in front, ready to drop Thor off, but Thor turned to him rather than getting out of the car. "Would you like to go out for dinner with me some time?" he asked. "I'm almost free of my ass donut, and I know a place that does amazing things with tuna." 

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Putting Out Fire](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4875187) by [Hermaline75](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hermaline75/pseuds/Hermaline75)




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